Kenyan Olympian Claims Gold, Wins Electricity for Her Village

A medal isn’t the only reward Olympic athletes receive for proving their athletic superiority. Many countries give winning athletes hefty cash prizes, and some go so far as to buy their hometown heroes new houses and luxury cars. (That’s not even counting the corporate gifts, which can include unlimited sausages and other amazing swag.)

But one of the Kenyan athletes who earned gold in Rio had a far simpler request, as India Today reports. Faith Kipyegon, the 22-year-old runner who won the 1500-meter women’s race at the Olympics just a few weeks ago, comes from a village that hasn’t had electricity since it was settled in the 1980s. Her hometown friends and family in Ndabibit couldn’t even watch her race.

After her win, Kipyegon’s father, Samuel Kipyegon, made a direct plea to the Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, in the African paper the Daily Nation. He asked for electricity for the village to allow him to watch his daughter race. The next day, his request was granted, and workers began installing power lines to the whole area. Nine days later, the village was completely wired. While the proud papa may not have a TV yet, Samsung has promised to gift him a set soon, giving Kipyegon and his family the ability to watch Faith's next big win—with the lights on.

Harry is a Gryffindor. Draco is a Slytherin. But what is Fido? An Orlando, Florida animal shelter’s sorting ceremony will decide. As The Dodo alerts us, the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando has started sorting its adoptable dogs into Hogwarts houses to make it easier for potential adopters to get a sense of their personalities.

For lack of a magic hat, the shelter came up with a test to sort dogs based on their behavior. According to the Pet Alliance:

For example, a dog who takes to learning obedience cues or quickly figures out a puzzle has the KNOWLEDGE of a Ravenclaw. A small dog who has the determination to climb the agility A-Frame possesses the AMBITION of Slytherin house. Our affectionate happy-to-know-you dogs embody the FRIENDLINESS of a Hufflepuff, and a dog who embraces change and new things has the BRAVERY known to all Gryffindors.

Once they’re sorted, the dogs get a banner for their cage that announces their respective house. (Not a lot of dogs are Ravenclaws, which I guess means that puzzle toy is really hard.) The fun promotion has brought in plenty of adopters looking to add a new canine wizard to their own house.

"For many guests visiting our shelter, there is an instant recognition for our 'Pawgwarts Houses,' based on the overwhelming popularity of the book series," Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando communications manager Stephen O'Neal tells Mental Floss. "People come in knowing what their personal house is and are so enthusiastic about our Potter-inspired sorting process." The sorting quiz on the shelter's website has been taken more than 30,000 times, he says.

Besides being a very social media-friendly way to advertise dogs, the sorting is a helpful way to show off a dog’s personality traits while avoiding any talk of breed. Since DNA research shows that a huge number of dogs in shelters are labeled as the wrong breed—particularly dogs labeled as pit bulls—the Pet Alliance has stopped listing breeds altogether. And Hogwarts houses describe how a dog acts instead of what its parents looked like, making them far more useful for finding the perfect new pet. At least for Harry Potter fans.

Most of the shelter's cats haven't been sorted (probably because most cats refuse to wear cute clothes) but Cody, at least, deigned to wear his Hufflepuff scarf.

Ray and Wilma Yoder are probably America's foremost amateur experts on Cracker Barrel restaurants. As Eater reports, the Indiana couple is on a 30-year quest to eat at every single Cracker Barrel in the U.S. And they’ve almost completed it.

Ray Yoder of Goshen, Indiana, first started going to Cracker Barrel regularly when he worked delivering RVs across the country. Soon, Wilma was coming along, too, and the couple began hunting down Cracker Barrel locations in earnest, a pastime they’ve pursued for the past three decades.

Cracker Barrel got its start in Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1969, and according to Ray, visiting the restaurants while on the road felt like being at home. “It has a down-home spirit, and everybody is friendly,” he told the Lebanon Democrat. He told the paper that stopping at Cracker Barrels helped relieve boredom when he was on the road.

Now, he and Wilma are celebrities to those in the Cracker Barrel know. Cracker Barrel’s corporate leadership invites them to opening day at new stores. Employees know of them, and sometimes they receive gift baskets when they come in to cross a new Cracker Barrel off their list. People ask to take their picture when they visit.

The 80-year-olds have just two rules for their visits: At each location, they always buy something, even if it’s just a cup of coffee, and leave a tip. There’s no limit on how many Cracker Barrels they’ll go to in a single day, though. They once visited 10 different locations on a drive along the East Coast. Overall, their Cracker Barrel adventure has taken them more than 5 million miles across 44 states.

The Yoders recently visited their 644th Cracker Barrel, attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new location in Lavonia, Georgia, in early July. They’re hoping to hit up the last Cracker Barrel on their list—until the next one opens, that is—by heading to Tualatin, Oregon, sometime later this year.

Update: Portland news station KGW reports that the Yoders have now completed their quest, stopping in at the Tualatin Cracker Barrel on August 28. The company flew them to Oregon for the occasion, which marked the end of their 645-restaurant journey. For now, at least.